ABSTRACT
The inclusivist response to religious pluralism has been the official position of the Roman Catholic Church, and Karl Rahner, a Jesuit priest, has been its principal proponent since the Second Vatican Council. Karl Rahner gives very considerable authority to the church. Rahner's ecclesiology figures significantly throughout his writings. Rahner takes one beyond the rigid parameters of the exclusivists and opens up new possibilities for thinking through the Christian response to religious pluralism. Rahner's fourth thesis deals with his understanding of what he calls the missionary imperative. Rahner gives timely stress to the complex hermeneutical issues involved in any investigation or comparison of belief systems. He is very open to the possibility that there is much for Christians to learn from interaction with people of other faiths. It seems that he most obviously occupies the conservative end of the inclusivist spectrum. Therefore, Rahner must be classified as a traditional inclusivist.
